Concluding Remarks

Writing this blog in the last few weeks is a very interesting journey that I certainly learn a lot from. I explore several topics about water and food security in Africa, which I was interested before in but didn't get chances to dig into.

Inspired by Binyavanga's article, I wrote against the oversimplification of African water issues by reflecting the existing and future complicated surface water resource situations across the continent. Then I discuss three potential solutions towards the water and food insecurity from different perspectives. Different types of water storage systems, particularly small-scale and naturally-formed ones, are able to ease seasonal water imbalance, while virtual water trade could spatially reallocate water resources from an economic pathway. Once associated suspicions are dispelled, GMO methods can enhance the efficiency of agricultural water usage. In principle, these are all innovative approaches to water and food challenges, but as the Tanzanian case study shows, practical resource management might sometimes more closely relate to political power.

I only cover a small number of examples and subjects linked to Africa's water and food nexus in this blog. The true state of affairs on this continent and in any of its countries would only be more complicated than what I've described. Also, there are more feasible avenues for providing content-specific solutions towards water and food security. As being insistingly mentioned in this blog, I believe it's critical to do our best to understand local situations and be open to any potential answers.

We have a tendency to see the world through rose-coloured glasses. Before starting this blog, I was one of those who held a homogeneous view of Africa. Even now, I consider myself being not enough "local" to truly view and write about this continent. Whereas the attempt to see and think like a local participant of these issues is important, and thanks to this blogging experience, I gain this feeling and got the chance to practice.

All in all, thank you for reading this blog and I hope you enjoy it. See you next time!

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

GMOs: Changing the Crop Africans Grow

图片
In the previous two posts, I addressed two solutions to Africa's water and food scarcity challenges: correcting unequal time distribution of water resources through storage systems and easing asymmetrical geographical distribution via virtual water trade . Both of these ideas stem from the desire to make better use of current water supplies – but what if we could address the problem by changing the crops we grow? As an outcome of modern biotechnological development, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have always been burdened with both expectations and opprobrium. GMOs, according to the FAO , are species 'in which one or more genes have been introduced into its genetic material from another organism using recombinant DNA technology. This approach allows for the development of crop traits (such as disease resistance, lower water and nutrient input requirements, higher yield and nutrition and so on) that may adapt to a broader range of growing environments, hence addressing f...
阅读全文

Virtual Water Trade: Economic Solution towards Agriculture-led Water Scarcity

图片
As I suggested in my last post , building reservoirs or other forms of water storage facilities could aid in adjusting seasonal imbalances of water resource allocation. Following that, let's talk about another creative solution to the uneven spatial distribution of water. Virtual Water: The Theory Since its inception in the early 1990s, the virtual water trade has grown in popularity as a special solution to national water scarcity. The term "virtual water" relates to the water required to manufacture certain agricultural products (sometimes also further applies to water used in non-agriculture items). This proposal came up with a technique for countries to compensate for their water shortages through economic processes. Instead of producing water-intensive commodities in-house, countries could choose to import them and spare their limited water resources for domestic consumption. On the other hand, water-rich nations can also benefit from their surplus water resource by...
阅读全文

Food and Water in Africa: Start with a More Careful View

图片
Hi and welcome to my blog! This blog will include a series of posts to discuss some key issues and potential solutions relating to the topic of Food and Water in the African context. In this first post, I would like to start with some reflections about how should we view water and food issues in this continent. Almost undeniably, water and food are two essential preconditions of life, which are also strongly interlinked. Only with sufficient quantity and acceptable quality of water, food security could be achieved to support other economic and social development within a country  (Vilakazi et al., 2019) . In other words, water is incontestably embedded in food safety.  In terms of water and food in Africa, you probably have seen or known the following statements before:      Over 600 million Africans are experiencing water shortages.       Nearly one-fifth of the African population is suffering from hunger  (FAO, 2021) .    ...
阅读全文